Caldo Verde

Submitted by David Hawkins

"(Portuguese Kale Soup) by John Villa Pico, NYC Recipe adapted by Irene Sax Considered by many to be Portugal's national dish, caldo verde is found everywhere — in the dining rooms of Lisbon's most luxurious hotels to the humblest of country homes. It's a versatile dish: Serve it as a one-course meal at lunch or as a light supper in the evening. What's crucial when preparing it is that the kale is cut into extremely fine slices; that's what creates the soup's distinctive character."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 10 ounces Portuguese chourico, diced
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 8 cups cold water
• 1 lb kale or 1 lb collard greens, cut into very fine julienne
• salt and pepper

directions

1. 1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and half the chouriço and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover everything with the water, bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmering until the potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes.
2. 2. When the soup is cool enough to handle, purée it in the food processor and return to the pot. Add the greens, bring everything back to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and garnish with the remaining cubes of chouriço.

Reviews

[breezermom]

Amazing! Absolutely wonderful taste. Loved the soup! However, you should know your greens in making this recipe....different greens get tender at different times. The sausages I could find were uncooked, so I had to cook them for the 2nd step. Trusted the cooking and boiling time in the first half to cook my sausage. I like crisp greens, but if you are like my mother and the rest of my family, the greens need to be soft. So if you want soft greens increase the cooking time for them by an hour and a half if you use Collards, at least 45 minutes if you use kale. I enjoyed my collard greens after an additional 30 minutes of cooking. They were still quite crisp, but I felt better about eating the sausage with them cooked that way! I hoped the fiber offset the fat in the sausage! I've never had the original soup, but this version is delicious! I highly recommend it to anyone that loves sausage and greens!

 

[CookinNEatinGal]

The sausage gives it such great flavor in this dish. I was looking for this recipe and this one came closest to what I am used to. Simple to prepare and every bite is so yummy!